Primora: End of the 3rd Age

CONVERGENCE

Supreme Warlord

16

APR/17

Valendale has long maintained a policy of keeping the southern tribes in a constant state of conflict to prohibit their unification. It is believed that a unified Staggra under one rule as one nation would create a potential nightmare situation for the Dale’s defense. Over the course of centuries, the Dale has protected itself by sowing seeds of chaos within the tribal territories to keep them warring among themselves. While not something it would admit on a State level and certainly nothing it would be proud of, the royals believed it the safest and cheapest way to maintain safe borders.

Now, it is important to note that the tribesmen always followed an animal motif. Tiger tribes, wolf tribes etc. At the end of the 2nd Age, dozens of powerful Undine creatures seeped into the prime material plane and assumed the forms of the animal-gods these primitive mortals worshipped. So as the war to the North continued against the Frost Giants, those powerful Undine pushed their followers harder to ramp up campaigns of terror against their own.

Enter: Convergence

It is a name he earned as a Millennian gladiator & slave. Initially he was known as Amhuluhk the Massive while living upon the island of Trulconnan. Amhuluhk fought in 20 contests within the Millennian pits before suffering a lethal injury. Instead of being fed to the lions for the enjoyment of the crowds, a rich merchant rushed forward and threw bags of gold coins into the arena. Amhuluhk was recognized as an intelligent combatant, patient and highly efficient. It was said that he never wasted his energy and that each step he took was a calculated maneuver. Most died in a single sweep of his scythe-like sword. He never celebrated nor showed any emotion. He killed like a living machine, cold & without hesitation. Therefore, this merchant saw in Amhuluhk an investment opportunity to create something special. Something potentially legendary. So the Trull was spared and was released into the service of one of Millennia’s most cruel & bloodthirsty crime bosses, Devarik Mulganey – Millennia’s​ most prolific smuggler.

Once healed, the trull was rebuilt into a new vision of horror. From his horns, his armor and his method of dispatching foes, Amhuluhk the Massive became Convergence – Gladiatorial Champion. It took less than 6 months and he would hold the title for a decade, spawning some of the most wild & memorable matchups in Millennian history. Drakes, giants, packs of mutant hounds and reenactments of famous battles – all for the enjoyment of the crowd and for the profit of his master.

While this was going on, Convergence was also tasked with other duties outside of the arena. Extortion, intimidation and murder were also part of his new responsibilities. He did not disappoint.

He gained a new master after a spectacular battle with a cyclops. His new master’s name was Walter McKinney. His old master, Devarik Mulganey made the unfortunate mistake of sending Convergence to run-off a new rival within the gritty criminal underground. The trull mowed through Walter’s men but stopped when the lucky thief noticed the huge behemoth was slowing his charge. Something was amiss. The beast seemed fatigued all of a sudden, so Walter moved in quickly and struck true. The magical stiletto punctured a lung but Walter backed off. He too, wanted his own pet trull and made a deal with him. Walter would spare his life, slay his current master, and forge a path ahead for Convergence to be free, once & for all. All he needed to do was to “work off his debt” to Walter.

More years wore on and the illness that the trull was experiencing was getting worse. Convergence was dying but from what, was not clear. So he turned to an ancient orkish method of physical modification; a formula derived from a fungus that grows near the Moores of Rezzin mixed with other potent chemicals. It is called “Grave Syrup”, a term for the liquidation of a corpse during the decomposition process.

The result of the mixture, is heightened strength, speed & endurance but with a heavy price. Over time, the user barely eats, hardly sleeps and requires more & more of the drug as its effects cause long-term erosion of muscle tissue. This combined with his disease, quickly brought to bare the fact that Convergence was not long for this world.

He was not afraid to die but he did not wish to leave this world before giving something back. Convergence was privy to some of Walter McKinney’s​ secrets. He learned of grim portents written within The Scrolls of Kirith. It was retold to him by an elven slave girl that Convergence saved while repaying some of his debt to Walter.

She warned Convergence that the end days were near. That these Rifts were merely a symptom of a much larger event to come, called a Grand Nexus. With this new found knowledge, the champion of Millennia decided he would become something more, a champion of something greater. So he & the elven girl fled into the night, taking the fiercely loyal subordinates he trained with him. They marched east across the Carboncinder mountains and deep into Staggra.

His legion grew as he cut a swath of destruction all the way to the eastern coast. Men recognized his strength and tactical prowess and flocked to his side. His army numbered only in the hundreds when he destroyed his first Spiritual Guardian, an enormous frog like beast named Slaadolnovock. It nearly killed Convergence and he quickly realized that these monsters required a little more strategy to best than simple brute force.

Three years later and two winning campaigns against two other dominant tribes, his army now ranged in the tens of thousands and he was using more tricks at his disposal. Convergence employed hit & run tactics with the breeding of a faster, smaller but powerful warhorse known as an Amber Steppe. He also combined intense psychological warfare by using propaganda to build an aura of invincibility around him & his men. The myths surrounding his army were a key element to its effectiveness in combat.

Staggran tribes are anything, if not absurdly superstitious. They are fearful of dark magic, demons and so on. Undead fill their bedtime stories of morality told ad nauseum to their young ones. Convergence used this as a tool to bring them to heel. He destroyed their leaders in one on one combat, removing any mythical status attributed to them. He crushed their idols and temples, challenged their gods with blasphemy, and emerged unscathed. He also used tricks he picked up out west. He used smoke pots and cheap but visually imposing magics, which created a story that half his legion were harnessed directly from the Abyss. This was reinforced by having his troops dress accordingly which consisted of horns and animal heads, makeshift claws and teeth. They would howl at the moons, and haunt enemy villages by night; it was as if they had crawled out of the ground, thirsting for blood.

But his campaign is not a selfish one. This is not blood lust like many believe. He is not a cruel torturer with a devil’s soul. Convergence is making good on a personal promise to change how a Nexus works. His goal, was to crush all the Undine within the area of where the event was to happen. This would reduce the combatants involved as well as their levels of power. A Nexus draws Undine to it like a moth to the flame. They would in theory, flock to Staggra to compete but be met by an army dedicated to their destruction.

But there’s even more. Unifying the tribes could also serve a dual purpose in stopping the slave trade that plagues his race. Making Staggra a nation under one rule would slow the Valanese imperialism and block the dwarves of Carboncinder from unfairly, unlawfully depleting the region of its resources. It could finally bring the region closer to peace for it’s own people. That last part would be a gift to the little elven girl that Convergence is never seen without. Their bond is unspoken, but deep. No one is to speak of it for fear of angering the behemoth but all know that she means a great deal more to him than a mere advisor.

With Millennia in full revolt and Valendale struggling against a terrifying enemy to the frozen north, no other nation can be counted on to fight the fate of the prime material plane. A great temple will be built within Staggra to offset the influence of the Temple of Elemental Evil​. But to do so, the Tri-Magi must first strike a deal with Convergence, which is yet another aspect of his strategy. He knows of a dreadful artifact that could be potentially dangerous in the wrong hands and currently guards the path leading to it. The Tri-Magi can have, both, the device and also the land rights to build the new temple. But they have to supply the Horde with more weapons to destroy the Undine that will be pouring in soon.

As the power of the multiverse culminates into one focused point within Primora, a Grand Nexus will emerge and change the world forever. It will harken the start of a new age and it’s champion will be granted the will of a god for one singular moment in time. A mighty “wish”. Rarely does anything good come from this power. He has an idea though; something to throw a monkey wrench into the great magical machine.

Convergence will most likely not be alive to see his dream become a reality. He grows sicker by the day and relies on his medicine just to get out of bed. He has made contingencies in how to prepare his leadership council upon his passing. He is now prepared to die.